We love heading to Market, but love returning even more! After we spend days surrounded by the new offerings, we anxiously await the arrival of our purchases, and even more so, sharing them with you! We’ll be sharing pieces as they arrive through our social media, but would love for you to come in and test them out yourself!

At the recent Fall Market, we took note of the fun vintage vibe. Many of the showrooms brought us back to our childhoods—the 70s are definitely making a comeback! The 70s style leads way for the bohemian era, highlighting the beautiful wicker, baskets, rugs and so much more! We were so thrilled to see the comeback of color—bright colors, pairings and unique uses! We also noted the mix of textures, fresh placement of trims and funky new patterns!

The flange treatment on this darling settee totally won our hearts. Combined with the frame and fabric selection, this settee screams updated traditional—which we love!

Texture, texture, texture! We couldn’t get enough of the textural play in this vignette, and will be welcoming it to our stores very soon!

In another nod to the 70s, we liked the preppy color palette in this vignette! We’re always on the symmetry bandwagon and think this look was a real winner.

We fell in love with this pink ottoman! Velvet is in vogue and we love how you can marry a pop of color with the trend.

Bohemian is here to stay! The moody blues, the layering, the textures—sheer eclectic sophistication.

We found so many great pieces at the recent Market and can’t wait to share them with you! Pieces will be arriving on a rolling basis starting very soon so we encourage you to pop in to the showrooms often!

Influenced by the romanticism of classical European architecture, well-known Minnesota architect Clarence Johnston left his mark on St. Paul in the late 1800s. This house, built in 1898, was a true masterpiece and was recently restored by Robert Glynn of Spara Realty. With the help of Stacey Johnson, a local real estate investor, interior designer and Spara Realty agent, the house now shines again!

701 Summit Avenue has become an anchor on such a historic street for more than one reason. Johnston’s passion for his career came from good friend Class Gilbert and their time spent living together in New York. The two were so inspired by one another they built similar houses right next door to each other on Summit. Johnston was the Minnesota State Architect from 1901-1931 and is known for quite a few buildings around town. Most noteworthy – The St. Paul Curling Club, Williams Arena & Northrup Auditorium on the University of Minnesota campus. Also, in 1904, Johnston designed the Glensheen mansion in Duluth. We are thrilled that we could do our part to help restore a historic masterpiece on Summit Ave!

701 Summit Ave encompasses nearly 7,000 sq feet. The 6-bedrooms and 6-bathrooms have been redone and outfitted for a modern family. Johnston clearly spared no expense in designing the Renaissance Revival beauty years ago, and the recent renovation further highlighted the unique details!

The team hired a local artisan to restore all the home’s woodwork with a specially mixed shellac, true to the original coating. Glynn and Johnston worked with other local businesses to refinish the hardwood floors that he found were in great shape, repair the windows and the clay-tiled roof, install new and to-code electrical, plumbing, lighting, and heating and air-conditioning, and pour a new driveway. The renovation saw an expansion in the original servants’ kitchen to create a fully equipped space for modern cooks and upgraded the master bedroom to include an en-suite master bath. On the exterior, Spara oversaw a bit of a facelift at 701 Summit Ave, including new tuckpointing, painting and the addition of a two-car garage.

The addition of traditional and transitional furniture completed the modern meets classic revival. Along with Spara Realty, we welcomed nearly 500 guests to an open house this week to see all the hard work and beautiful end project. After nearly a year-long labor of love, 701 Summit Ave is back in action as one of the Summit Ave’s grand mansions!

Were we right in our predictions? Fall High Point Market 2016 was a smashing hit! We definitely noticed quite a few anticipated trends, but also saw an equal number of unexpected!

Texture:
Texture was everywhere—and we mean everywhere: Rugs, pillows, throw blankets, ottomans, sofas and even new, fun fabrics. Magnolia Home, a brand made popular via Joanna Gaines on HGTV’s Fixer Upper, expanded their line to include rugs and pillows with different knots, plushness and textures.

Pantone Color:
The Pantone color of the year, blush, made a soft appearance. The more feminine touch provided a stark contrast to the other, more industrial trends.

Creative Lighting:
The lighting was spectacular and made an impressive statement. The unique fixtures added a touch of elegance, while others added the perfect touch of whimsy.

Classic Traditional:
We noticed a new use of the classic-traditional style in some of the showrooms. Rich, chocolatey leather paired perfectly with accessorized bookshelves this market. The warm colors and traditional fixtures provided a sense of comfort, yet in a more clean and tailored way.

High Performance Fabrics (or lack thereof):
One trend we were hoping to see was use of high performance and outdoor fabrics in different applications, but we did not. In fact, these fabrics were noticeably absent in each showroom. The standard Cryptons and Sunbrellas were shown, but there weren’t nearly as many new introductions as we expected.

One of our absolute favorite parts of Market is soaking in the gorgeous florals that the vendors bring in to perfectly stage their showrooms. We are suckers for fresh blooms and we certainly got our fill this time around.

We are so excited to share all of our market buys with you as they arrive at our showrooms. Stay up to date with us by stopping in and from home via our social media!

At Traditions, we are constantly drawn to items with a unique and updated spin on what was once deemed classic traditional. As we get closer to the Fall High Point Market, we are excited to see how the latest trends translate into the furniture world and what the latest inspiration is!

What’s Trending Now:

Earthy pastel hues with an organic flair are all the rage as they incorporate the Pantone color of the year. We foresee more of this look, as it provides a tailored, clean aesthetic appealing to all!

Mixed metals are another trend that is super prevalent. We anticipate a mix of brass, gold, polished nickel and silver, freshened up with white plaster.

Mid-century Modern is still very popular. We expect all the burled wood and contemporary materials we saw last year for a continued vintage made modern.

Fool-proof fabrics have been a favorite, but are quickly becoming our absolute go-to. Crypton and Sunbrella fabrics now come in fun patterns, but only a few vendors currently offer them. We hope to see many vendors jump on this popular bandwagon we are sure (and wishing) is here to stay!5. Updated florals are also something to note. Notable decor leaders believe we are transitioning into a cleaner, more modern floral to update our classic traditional so florals can be transitional and appeal to a wider array of customers. We are all for a more modern take on traditional!

Showrooms we’re excited to see in High Point:

Four Hands

Sarreid

Lee Industries

Stanford

Currey & Co.

Taylor King

Stay tuned to see what new treasures we found and what surprises totally won us over at the High Point Market in the coming weeks!

It’s always fun to get together and try a new restaurant. We have started our very own Dinner of the Month Club with all the members of Traditions staff. Each month we will all get together to try a new restaurant, a favorite restaurant or even a hidden hole in the wall. Our first choice was St. Genevieve in the Lynnhurst neighborhood of Minneapolis. France, especially Paris, is always on our minds so we thought a new, groovy French restaurant was the perfect choice. St. Genevieve, a buvette – pub or tavern with champagne any time of the day, was a fantastic find! The table favorite was tartine madame and pommes frites with béarnaise mayonnaise. The simple pleasure of a croque with french fries and a good glass of wine is not lost on the ladies of Traditions.

Others at the table ordered the pan seared whole trout and the chicken and shrimp. Of course, dessert was a must.

The chocolate mousse and the peaches and cream were both devoured in a matter of a few spoonfuls.
Needless to say, we will be going to this restaurant again soon. Stay tuned to see where we go next!